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A Spooktacular Review : Routes to Reading

I have the pleasure of sharing with you a rather spooktacular round-up of two gorgeous Halloween books. We were so excited when Routes to Reading approached us and asked if Lil G would like to review their books for the spooky season which is nearly upon us.

Ooh mummy I’d like that

Our toddler is a HUGE bookworm and when presented with new books he reacts as if it is Christmas Day! If only he will remain this easy to please! I think not. Well, for now reading stories and exploring the magic of a new book is a joy. It may become a bit of a chore in later years, so I will continue to enjoy the fact that he is super excited by his little reading journey.

With the helping hand of Kindergarten he is very much aware of Halloween this year. Last year it passed us by, whereas this year there is no chance of escaping the spooky season and thanks to one of these books we are now planning a Halloween Party! Thank you Jannie Ho & Routes to Reading!

This little review is all about these two stories…

We always enjoy reading a story a few weeks in advance of an actual occasion so as to build up Lil G’s excitement and his understanding of a period in time. He recognised the theme just from the covers. Initially he was drawn to the Wickle Woo story. The book is a lovely size, just perfect for little hands. It is bright, colourful and engaging. Attracting his attention immediately, it wasn’t long before he ran off to his reading corner and made his way through the pages.

When I asked Lil G what he liked about the story, he said…

…my favourite part is pulling out all of the tabs to see the animals. I love the monkey mummy!

He also liked the fact that all of his favourite animals were having a Halloween party and eating cake. As you make your way through the book there are a number of educational bits too. You are encouraged to count, lots of colours for the child to identify, there are vegetables to be named, and of course you could have fun counting all of the spiders and pumpkins! Mr H wasn’t much for this book if the truth be told, whereas for me it was lovely to see Lil G engaging with the pages himself rather than us taking over.

Moving on to the next little spooky story…

At first I was a little concerned that the Ghost in the House would be too scary for Lil G. I was worried about him reading it before bedtime which is his most favourite time to indulge in his books. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It is far from being a scary story. It is spooktacular and soon became Lil G’s favourite. The story is catchy and within 3 reads he was reading certain elements back to me and very much getting involved in the theatrics behind the story… BOO!

The part he particularly liked and so did I, was that the little boy was able to scare away the not so scary monsters. Making this a not so scary story. All too recently Lil G has been waking in the night as he can hear things *rubs tired eyes*. We talked through how the little boy was brave in the story, he popped on his light and scared away the monsters and that not all monsters are scary. It seems to be helping! Hooray.

Our favourite type of story are those that are repetitive and rhyming so as to help Lil G with his language. This book was just that. The illustrations are fantastic and the characters look friendly. I would recommend this book as an everyday story rather than just for Halloween. Which for me is value for money. Rather than popping it away in a cupboard.

Before I go, I just have to mention the Routes to Readingwebsite. It is a little gem. Before this review I hadn’t come across the site, so for a book loving family like us I couldn’t help but take a little look around. I have to say I find most online book stores rather difficult to navigate, whereas the Routes to Reading site is very user-friendly. The home page is really welcoming and you get a sense that it has been designed with parents in mind. Life is so busy and it’s far too easy to put reading to one side, yet with some simple facts popped on to the home screen you can’t help but feel encouraged to read with your little one.

Whilst having a nosy around, I came across the ‘Little ones library’ section which is pure genius. The books are categorised by the ages they are suitable for, the format and type of content. If only I had known about this when Lil G was younger.

One small fact which I would like to mention and that Routes to Reading passed on to me, is that the prices in most occasions are comparable to Amazon. Wow. Mr H is rather happy about that! Given that Christmas is fast approaching I couldn’t have come across this site at a better time.

It goes without saying that Lil G is very happy with his two new additions to his library of books. If they make it into his bookcase then they are a keeper!

You can find the Routes to Reading Team on Twitter here and Facebook here where they are more than happy to help with your queries.

* These books were gifted to us in exchange for this review. All words are my own